Historic Dillon House heads to auction

State had rejected two previous bids

The historic Dillon House across from the Kansas Statehouse will go up for auction June 25 at the site, 404 S.W. 9th St. The 11,942-square-foot Dillon House most recently was appraised at $448,500. The state acquired it from First Presbyterian Church in 1998 in exchange for a parking lot.

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The historic Dillon House across from the Kansas Statehouse will go up for auction June 25.

Oklahoma-based AmeriBid LLC announced the auction would be held at the site, 404 S.W. 9th St., at 9:30 a.m. A 3,670-square-foot former home now zoned for use as office space at 427 S.W. Topeka Blvd. will be auctioned the same day.

The 11,942-square-foot Dillon House most recently was appraised at $448,500, according to the Shawnee County Appraiser’s Office. The state acquired it from First Presbyterian Church in 1998 in exchange for a parking lot.

Topeka banker and lawyer Hiram Price Dillon and his family moved into the three-story house in 1914. It features stained glass windows and Italian Renaissance-style architecture, as well as the first electric elevator installed in a Topeka home. The Kansas Historical Society described it as “one of the last remaining important architectural structures from the pre-World War I time period of Topeka.”

A bill was introduced during the 2010 legislative session that would have allowed the Kansas Arts Commission to begin raising $4.6 million to restore the Dillon House, but that plan fell through, and Gov. Sam Brownback de-funded the commission the following year.

The state received two bids for the house in February. Historic preservation organization Pioneer Group Inc. offered $205,000 for the property, and real estate investor Denis Kenney offered to pay $351,000, trade three other properties he owned or to pursue a lease-to-buy option. The state determined the bids weren’t equal to the fair market value of the property, Kansas Department of Administration spokesman Chuck Knapp said.

Don Gabriel, regional director and broker for AmeriBid, said bidders can register the day of the auction to receive a number, which they will use in a live bidding process. Buyers will be charged a 10 percent premium on the sale price.

Both properties will be open for potential bidders to inspect June 11 and 18, Gabriel said. The Dillon house will be open from 1:30 to 3 p.m. both days, and the house on S.W. Topeka Boulevard will be open from 3:30 to 5 p.m.